


Love: A Funny Thing Really

by KaMo_Writer



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: Fluff, More characters to be added later, More ships to be added later - Freeform, Multi, One Shot Collection, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Polyamorous relationship, Post-Canon, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:14:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26723467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaMo_Writer/pseuds/KaMo_Writer
Summary: A little collection of one shots showing the lives/relationship of Douxie, Krel and Mary after the series ended.
Relationships: Hisirdoux "Douxie" Casperan/Krel Tarron/Mary Wang, Steve Palchuk/Aja Tarron
Comments: 9
Kudos: 13





	1. Questions

**Author's Note:**

> Man, I've been writing/posting a lot of fics lately. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing to be honest.
> 
> Slice of Life oneshots and poly ships are good enough on there own, but combine them together and you get humanity's greatest creation! But of course, that's just my opinion. ;)

Mary Wang never thought she would be annoyed by attention, and yet here she was, annoyed.

“This is so not fair Mary! Why do you get _two_ boyfriends?” Apparently Mary’s best friend Darci Scott had never heard of polyamory before, because she kept going on and on with her never-ending questions.

Mary sighed. “It’s not like I reserve the right. You can suggest the idea to Toby if you want. I’m not stopping you.”

“That’s not the _point_ Mary! The fact that you got to the idea first makes you the most popular girl in the school!” Darci hesitated. “Okay, maybe you already were the most popular girl in the school. But if me and Toby become poly, we’ll look like copycats! And then Jim and Claire will probably end up reversing the trend just by _not_ doing it, and then-”

“The only reason Jim and Claire aren’t doing it is because they’re sappy, lovestruck traditionalists,” Mary pointed out.

“But, but, you’re always going on about how important popularity is!”

“Darci,” Mary said bluntly, “You kind of threw the whole idea of popularity out the window when you started dating Toby.”

Darci’s jaw dropped in shock.

“I’m just kidding Darce, I wouldn’t say that,” Mary sort-of apologized.

Darci breathed a sigh of relief.

Darci’s questions, sadly, didn’t stop. They just kept coming and coming and coming-

“Ah, there you are Mary!” came a voice. A very familiar one. One of the only ones that wouldn’t bring Mary annoyance at that moment in time.

“Doux!” Mary ran forward, a sudden need to hug her boyfriend taking over her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, digging her face into his jacket.

“Hey, lovely,” he muttered in her ear.

“MARY!” came a shout from thirty feet behind them. “You didn’t tell me one of your boyfriends was the hot british college kid from the restaurant!”

Mary sighed. “This is Darci,” she told Douxie, “She’s a great friend and all, but she’s been pestering me with questions _all day._ ” 

Douxie chuckled.

“Hey! Don’t forget about me!” Mary’s other boyfriend, Krel Tarron, was approaching from the other side. He waved at them as he got closer.

Mary smiled and took his hand. “Of course not.”

Darci suddenly appeared at Mary’s side. She must have sprinted, because she was panting and resting her hands on her knees. “Mary!” she muttered between breaths, “Your _other_ boyfriend is Krel Tarron?! Aja’s brother?! KREL TARRON?!”

“I’m right here!” Krel folded his arms indignantly against his chest.

“Yes! For the last time, yes! No more questions!” Mary answered.

  
Darci looked a little miffed at that. “Okay, fine. Jeez.”

Mary breathed a sigh of relief as Darci left. “Finally, maybe now she’ll just google all her questions instead of asking me all the time.”

Douxie chuckled. “In the meantime, how do you two feel about lunch at my place?

Krel nodded eagerly. “Yes! I haven’t had food all delson, I mean day. I’m starving!”

Mary smiled. For the first time that day, she felt really, truly, happy. “Sounds good to me, “ she said.


	2. Movie Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Douxie and Krel decide to have a movie night together, watching the first two movies of the Hunger Games. Adorableness ensues.

Hisirdoux Casperan had been alive for nine hundred years, and, as a result, had plenty of experience with dating. His boyfriend was most definitely going to be blown away by the date he had in store for him.

Or, then again, maybe not. Krel had pretty high standards when it came to, well, everything. Considering Douxie had been dating him for almost three months, he took that fact as a personal complement.

Douxie put the popcorn in the microwave, humming to himself contently as he listened to the small kernels pop, one by one. One of the great things about having an Akiridion boyfriend was not just their adorable accents, but also that they were barely exposed to Earth culture. In other words, there were hundreds of thousands of movies Douxie could show Krel that he’d never seen before. For today, he had selected two that he thought the Akiridion would especially enjoy.

A knock came from the door, and Douxie went to answer it. “Ah, there you are Krel! I see you finally got the whole ‘knocking on people’s doors before you enter their house’ thing.”

Krel rolled his eyes. “Oh come on, that was one time. One time!” shaking his head in exasperation, he entered the household. He looked around and put his hands on his hips.

Douxie smiled warmly at the Akiridion, already feeling happier since before he had come in. “So, Krel, I know you haven’t seen many Earth movies. I was thinking maybe I could show you a few of the better ones. Mary would especially want you to be educated in our culture.” He chuckled to himself.

“Alright then. What are we watching?” Krel leaned on the counter and slipped. “Kleb! I’m still not used to only having two arms to help me balance when I lean on things.”

Douxie laughed. “Today I thought we could watch one or two of the Hunger Games movies. I think you would find them entertaining.”

Krel shrugged. “If you say so.”

Once the popcorn had finished, they turned the movie on. After about ten minutes, Douxie quickly found out one of the perks of watching movies with Krel. The Akiridion was more than happy to giving a lot of commentary, which made the whole thing much more entertaining for Douxie.

“What! Why would you kiss him? You gloober! All he can do is bake bread! And no, Doux, I do not care if it was going to save her life. She’s an idiot.”

“Seklos and Gaylen, I could have hacked my way out of this stupid arena in less than five macrons! This is an insult to computer engineering in and of itself!”

Of course, Krel’s opinion of the second movie wasn’t any better. “Oh please, I figured out the clock thing from the second they stepped into the arena. Be more creative with your foreshadowing at least. Come on people.”

“Why would you kill her off? She’s the best character! Or at least the only one with even half a brain cell.”

Soon though, Krel’s comments and remarks became few and far between, until they had disappeared completely. Douxie assumed either he was just tired, or maybe he was actually coming to like the movie. Douxie kind of doubted it was the second one though.

Douxie let the credits roll, listening and humming along to the music, telling Krel a few things about the more prominent actors. Once the movie had ended he let out a long yawn. “Well, that was fun. What did you think of that one, Krel?”

He turned to his boyfriend and smiled, his heart melting just slightly. Krel had fallen asleep on his shoulder.

Douxie thought to himself, going over his options. He could wake him up now, and send the Akiridion home in the middle of the night, or he could wait until morning.

Douxie looked at Krel, and found he couldn’t wake him up. Instead, he re-positioned himself on the couch and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. He turned the TV off and closed his eyes. “Good night, Krel,” he murmured. It wasn’t long before he fell unconscious, holding Krel tightly to his chest as both boys snored away.

Douxie’s familiar, a black cat named Archie, wandered into the room, finding them asleep on the couch. He shook his head fondly, muttering to himself, and bounded away, careful not to wake either of them up.


	3. Kissing Tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the record, Krel thought trees were okay, he supposed.
> 
> But there was one tree he had been especially trying to avoid.
> 
> _
> 
> Mary takes Krel to the Kissing Tree for the first time.

As much as Krel loved spending time with his girlfriend, he had been dreading this specific date for a while now.

“Ugh, why do we have to go into the forest? I’m so cold…” Krel shivered. One of the best things about Akiridion-5 was that it was always the perfect condition. Never too hot, and never too cold. He wasn’t used to having to prepare for changes in the planet’s atmospheric temperature.

“Oh, quit complaining,” Mary called from a couple yards ahead, “It’s not  _ my _ fault you didn’t bring a jacket.”

Krel was about to retort when he decided it wasn’t worth the effort. There was no winning an argument with Mary Wang. That was something Krel had learned the hard way.

Mary led him through the woods, looking silent, beautiful, and mysterious, like one of the magical woodland creatures in the movies Douxie had been showing him.

Krel realized he was staring and shook himself, trying to distract himself with the scenery. One thing Akiridion-5 didn’t have, was forests like this. Krel’s home planet was beautiful in it’s own way, of course, with the glow of its inhabitants and advanced technology. But one thing it was sorely missing was the way trees on earth just seemed to sway, not enough for it to be really noticeable from a distance, but just enough that there was a constant feel of movement. Little rustles sounded out from the undergrowth, interrupting an almost touchable silence.

But by far the most impressive was the sky. It was a deep indigo blue, decorated in more stars than Krel could possibly hope to count. You just couldn’t see skies on this on Akiridion-5. With the glow of the Akiridions everywhere, all the time, you could barely see any stars. Not nearly enough to form a sight like this.

Krel stopped as he felt Mary’s hand slip into his. “Aw,” she cooed, “You're so cute when you're in awe of Earth’s nature and stuff.”

Krel gave her a look. “That’s oddly specific.”

Mary shrugged. “Well, it’s true. I don’t make the rules.”

Krel raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend and sighed, shaking his head in confusion. He followed her on throughout the forest nonetheless, starting to have suspicions about what she had dragged him in there for.

“Hey, Krel!” Mary waved him over to where she was standing. “We’re here!”

Krel came to look. He groaned loudly. So his suspicions were correct. Before them was a huge tree, surrounded by little glowing specks he had heard were called fireflies. “Oh no, Mary! Is this that stupid tree Aja keeps going on about?”

Mary put her hands on her hips indignantly. “If by ‘that stupid tree” you mean the Kissing Tree, than yes.”

Krel groaned again. Of all the ways to ruin a date.

Mary punched him in the shoulder, warranting a complaint from the Akiridion. “Oh, stop the complaining, would you? Trust me, it’s super pretty up there! If you think the stars are cool down here, wait until you see how they look up there!”

Krel sighed. “Ugh,  _ fine. _ ”

They climbed the tree, slowly and carefully, Krel mumbling to himself the entire way. Mary slipped for a moment, and Krel immediately reached over to steady her. “Are you okay?”

Mary smiled. “Yeah, I’m good. Thanks.”

After a few minutes of struggling, they finally managed to make it up the tree. Krel collapsed as best as he could on the branch, exhausted. He wasn’t exactly used to exercise, much less in the middle of the night.

Mary shook him gently. “Krel, look.”

Krel opened his eyes, and looked.

As much as he hated to admit it, Mary had been right. The stars were  _ amazing _ up here. There were so many patterns and shapes that Krel could spot. The fireflies glowed as if they were stars too, little specks of stardust that had come down to greet them.

Mary giggled at the look on his face.

Krel sighed. “Okay, okay. I get it. I’m adorable or whatever.”

Mary nodded. “Yeah, you are.” She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder. Nearly a half an hour went by without a thought as the two watched the stars.

Finally, Mary broke the silence. “Hey Krel, where do you think Aja is right now?”

Krel thought for a moment. Then he pointed near a star off to their right. “Probably somewhere over there.”

Mary nodded. After a moment’s hesitation, she asked, “Do you miss living on Akiridion-5?”

Krel shrugged. “Yes and no,” he began, “I do miss Aja. And Luug. And heck, even Zadra and Varvatos. I do miss not being surrounded by primitive technology.” He laughed. “But there’s something about this mudball that Akiridion-5 never had. Music, for one thing. Also emotions. Human emotions. You guys must be rubbing off on me, because I’ve experienced more ‘feelings’ here, both negative and positive, than I could have even imagined on Akiridion-5. It makes you realize why you even bother doing anything with your life, why you bother to keep going even when all you feel are the negative emotions. Because one day, something good will have to happen, and you’ll feel the positive ones again. That way, there’s always something to look forward to,” he blinked, like he hadn’t meant to say any of that out loud. “And besides,” he shrugged again. “This mudball is my home now.”

Krel looked over at Mary, surprised to see her smiling. “I’ve never thought of it like that before,” she whispered.

They sat for a few more minutes in silence.

Krel decided to ask  _ her _ a question this time. “So, Mary. Have you ever brought any of your past boyfriends here?”

Mary stuck out her tongue at him. “What, do you mean like Tight-Jeans Hank? No, for the record. I haven’t.”

Krel raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? Why not?”

Mary hesitated, suddenly looking like she didn’t know what to say. Finally, she answered, “I’m not sure actually. I guess, for them, the word ‘boyfriend’ was just a title I used to show off to my friends. I didn’t really have feelings for any of them, didn’t really care about them. At least, not in the way I care about you and Douxie.” She looked up at him, and Krel smiled at her.

Mary shook herself. “Well, anyway, it’s getting late. We should probably start heading back.” Krel nodded. Mary leaned up to quickly kiss him on the cheek before beginning the climb back down the tree.

Krel waited for a moment, looking up at where he thought Akiridion-5 was.

_ “At least, not in the way I care about you and Douxie.” _

Krel smiled, and followed his girlfriend down to the ground. He watched her carefully as he did so, not once letting her fall.


	4. When the Fun Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Douxie, Mary, and Archie trash Walmart.

Mary walked along with her boyfriend, a little tired from the long day. The night was peaceful and quiet, and it was a relief to be away from the stress that was school. She yawned. “So, Doux, what did you say we were doing tonight?”

Douxie smiled, looking a little sheepish. “We’re going to do something I always wanted to try. A warning though, it is  _ technically _ illegal-”

Mary raised her eyebrows at him. “Technically? Doux, what are we-”

Douxie rubbed the back of his neck. “Don’t worry Mary, it will be fine. We won’t get caught.”

Mary pointed a finger at him. “Doux, last time I got caught doing something ‘technically illegal’ I got my phone taken away. If you’re the reason I have to suffer through that again I swear I will-”

“Like I said! We won’t get caught! Archie here will make sure of that,” Douxie gestured to his familiar. Archie was resting on Doux’s shoulder, looking mildly amused at their conversation. “You don’t mind my bringing him along, do you?”

Mary shook her head. “Doesn’t bother me. Nice to see you, Arch.”

Archie smiled. “Always a pleasure, Mary.”

Suddenly Mary gave a small start. She looked closely at the large case hanging from her boyfriend’s shoulder. “Wait a second…” she muttered, “Is that your  _ staff _ ?”

Douxie turned towards her, as if trying to hide the guitar case from his girlfriend. “What? No! This is my normal guitar. Definitely not my staff. I don’t know what you're talking about.”

Archie shook his head. “It’s his staff.”

Douxie pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay fine, it’s my staff. But trust me, this is going to be great.”

Mary raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend but didn’t ask any more questions.

Soon, they reached their destination. The local neighbourhood Walmart.

“Walmart?” Mary scoffed, “In the middle of the night? Is it even open? I thought you said we were doing something fun.”

Douxie grabbed her arm and pulled her behind a sign. He watched the building cautiously.

Mary gave him a strange look. “What are you looking at?” she whispered.

Douxie pointed towards a very fancy, high-tech looking security camera. Slowly but surely, he pulled his staff out of its case and pointed it at the camera. In a flash of blue, the camera stopped moving and turned off.

Mary’s jaw dropped. “Doux, don’t tell me we’re breaking into a Walmart.”

Douxie smiled, an adorable, slightly mischievous little smile that made Mary’s heart jump a little in her chest. “You could say that.”

Mary shook her head in confusion. Nevertheless, she didn’t complain as she followed the wizard and his familiar into the building, Doux shutting down security cameras along the way. All three of them were silent for several minutes, until finally they had magically taken down all of the security cameras in the building.

Douxie didn’t relax until both Archie and the staff were sure there weren’t any more cameras. He stood up straight. “Now, Mary, is when the fun begins.”

Mary put her hands on her hips. “Are you going to tell me what we’re doing besides sneaking into the local Walmart in the middle of the night?”

Doux just smiled and lifted up his staff. Suddenly, a small pack of toilet paper flew through the air, radiating a pale blue light. “Catch!” he shouted.

Mary jumped as the toilet paper hit her in the torso. Her jaw dropped in mock disgust. “Um, excuse me?! Did you just throw  _ toilet paper _ at  _ me _ ?!”

Douxie just laughed; or at least he did until Archie dumped a box of cereal on his face. The two teens looked at the familiar in surprise. He shrugged, trying and failing to hold back a large grin. “What? If we’re going to do this, we might as well do it properly.”

Mary grinned back at him competitively. “Properly, huh?” she grabbed a flip flop from the nearest discount bin and chucked it at his face.

Archie dodged just in time, but not quite soon enough to escape Douxie’s magically thrown frozen chicken nugget.

The dragon faltered mid-air before glaring at his wizard associate. “Hisirdoux Casperan! That  _ hurt! _ You are going to regret that decision!” He flew over to the bakery and grabbed two donuts, one in each hand.

Douxie immediately bolted away, gesturing for Mary to follow. “Run!” he yelled back at her. Mary giggled and ran after him.

Everything quickly descended into an even worse chaos. Things flew everywhere as the three of them wreaked havoc all over Walmart. Somehow, stuffed animals had gotten themselves buried neck deep into the cakes.  Piñatas and cereal boxes littered the empty check-out lines, and a bicycle may or may not have been lodged in the ceiling.

Mary was having the time of her life. She hadn’t realized just how much she had been wanting to do this, create chaos and destroy everything in sight. It was surprisingly exhilarating to yeet barbies at her boyfriend and his magical cat, which was kind of strange when Mary had time to think about it afterwards.

Several hours later, at what must have been three in the morning, Mary paused.

Walmart was  _ destroyed. _

Mary groaned, instinctively reaching for her phone, as if cherishing it before her parents inevitably took it(and several other things) away for good.

She turned around to glare at her boyfriend. “Doux! What are we  _ doing _ ? My parents are actually going to kill me!”

Douxie just laughed at her angry expression. “Don’t worry! I’m a wizard, remember?”

He lifted up his staff, and, slowly but surely, the mess began to clean itself up.

Mary sighed. She reached down to grab a sandal off of the floor and trudged across the store to put it back where it belonged.

After about an hour and a half of clean-up, the large building looked almost exactly the same as it had when they had gotten there. Mary sat down, sore from all the walking and running around. Douxie was panting, looking drained from all the magic he had used. Archie rested on his shoulder, looking around to make sure everything was spotless.

Doux reached down his hand in an offer to help his girlfriend up. “Well, that was fun! Wasn’t it, Mary?”

Mary chuckled. “Okay fine, I admit it. That was pretty fun.” She accepted his hand and allowed herself to be pulled up.

Archie jumped to the ground, transforming back from a dragon into a regular black cat. “All the same, we better get going. The store will open in just a few hours, and I would imagine the workers will arrive before then.” Douxie nodded in agreement, and they strategically made their way around the Walmart, turning on the security cameras one by one. Quickly and quietly, they snuck out the front doors.

Douxie breathed a sigh of relief once they had left the parking lot. “Well, hopefully the police won’t show up at either of our doors tomorrow.”

Mary rolled her eyes, but smiled.

Doux rubbed his hands together. “Alright then. Want me to walk you home?”

Mary nodded. “Of course. That way my parents will see you and have someone else to blame when they find out what we just did.”

Douxie laughed. The three of them walked together; the night just as peaceful as it always had been. Nights in Arcadia were dark and quiet, and this one was, at the moment at least, no exception. The silence was only broken by the conversation of two teens and a magical cat familiar, reminiscing about the strange yet unforgettable memories they had made.


	5. Krel's Sick Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krel gets sick for the first time. Luckily for him, he has a boyfriend and a girlfriend to take care of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol I just realized that the acronym for this fic would be L:AFTR which sounds like laughter when said out loud. I promise I didn't do that on purpose.
> 
> Just so y'all know, this chapter was requested by MissA2910.
> 
> I had a lot of fun writing this. For those who see this, enjoy!

Krel was seventy-five percent sure that his human transduction was having some sort of glitch, because he felt _awful._

His throat was itchy, his head was at an above-average temperature, and his stomach was causing him more pain than he had ever felt in his life.

“Ow! _Kleb!_ ” he mumbled as his head started throbbing again. His stupid human form was broken and he couldn’t even think clearly enough to fix it. He pulled up the coding for his human transduction, checking it desperately for errors.

Nothing. His human appearance was working just fine. Seklos and Gaylen, what was _happening?!_

He groaned and tried to shake it off. He couldn’t think about that right now. He had to work on his latest project, or he wasn’t ever going to finish it.

Krel stumbled over to the piece of technology he was working on. He tried to concentrate on what he was doing, but he found he couldn’t focus his thoughts on anything at all. His mind drifted back to the pain he was in, and he stood there, trying to think straight.

“Krel?!” came a voice from behind him.

He turned around. Mary stood behind him. She had her hands indignantly placed on her hips.

Krel smiled, relieved. “Oh, Mary. Great timing, could you help me with this-”

“Krel! You look _awful_. What are you doing out of bed?!” Mary interrupted him. She pulled out her phone. Krel saw her dial Douxie’s number.

Krel gave his girlfriend a strange look. “What are you talking about?”

“Krel! You’re obviously sick! Look at you! You look like you’re half-dead!” Mary held the phone up to her face. “Hey Doux. Guess what? Krel’s sick and he has no idea how to take care of himself,” she paused for a moment, “I know right? Anyway, could I take him to your place? Okay thanks. See you in a bit. Bye!”

Krel stared at her sleepily, not quite able to comprehend the situation.

“Okay, come on, Krel. Douxie’s place is only a few blocks from here. You can walk that far, right?” Krel nodded, a little offended by the comment. “Okay, cool. Let’s get you somewhere you can rest.”

Krel shook his head. He may have been confused, but he knew one thing for sure. He was running behind on his project, and he had to finish it before Aja came to visit. “I can’t,” he mumbled, “I have to work…”

Mary shook her head and pointed a finger at his chest. “Nuh-uh. No working for you. You have to rest. No exceptions.”

Krel tried to complain, but it was too late. Soon he was outside, being dragged to his boyfriend’s house by his girlfriend. The sunlight seemed unusually bright that day, and Krel had to squint to be able to see.

Finally, they were there. Mary knocked on the door. Almost immediately, Douxie answered it. “There you are! Krel, you aren’t looking so good…”

Krel groaned. “I’m _fine._ ” Okay, maybe that wasn’t entirely true, but he didn’t want to admit it. He just wanted to get to his work, for the love of everything…

Douxie shook his head. “Trust me, you’re not. I’ve been around for nine hundred years worth of plagues and diseases. I know what I’m talking about.” Doux and Mary pulled him into the household and laid him on the bed.

As much as Krel hated to admit it, lying down felt _so_ much better than standing up. He allowed himself to relax, resulting in him feeling like a ragdoll that had been tossed on a couch.

Once he had settled, Mary turned to Douxie and clapped her hand together. “Come on Douxie! This kid needs medicine! Find him some pills!”

Douxie saluted in a full-on soldier boy style and bolted out of the room.

Not thirty seconds later, a thunk sounded from the other room, accompanied by a cry of “Oh, Fuzzbuckets!”

Mary pinched the bridge of her nose and gestured for Krel to stay put before running towards the noise. As Krel listened, he thought he heard the sound of shouts and yet another thunking noise. He felt something furry brush his hand.

Archie smiled at him sympathetically. “I hear you’re not feeling well? I’m sorry. As a dragon and a familiar, I can’t get human diseases. However, I’ve seen Douxie get them enough to have an idea of what they must feel like,” a third crash sounded from outside the door and Archie winced. “I’m also sorry you have these two to take care of you.”

Krel nodded, but was too tired to respond.

Mary and Doux finally came back with the pills. Mary shook her head in exasperation. “Guess what, Krel? Idiot here decided to use a Magic Ladder to reach the pills even though he _knows_ he isn’t even close to mastering it yet.”

“Hey!” Douxie protested, “I can master every other spell!”

“Doux, that spell takes a _lot_ of concentration! You said it yourself! Why the heck didn’t you just get an _actual ladder?_ ”

Their bickering continued for a full minute before Krel moaned, half out of pain and half to get their attention. Mary sighed and offered Douxie a quick apology before going to get Krel a glass of water.

Douxie opened the container and pulled out one of the pills. “Well, hopefully these should help you feel better.” He paused and looked over at Krel. “Do you, do you know how to swallow pills?”

Krel shook his head. He’d never gotten sick before, and they didn’t have pills on Akiridion-5.

Douxie pursed his lips together. “Well, it’s not too hard. Just put the pill on the back of your tongue and use the water to swallow it whole. Don’t bite it, trust me. It tastes disgusting if it gets opened. Plus it ruins the pill. Got that?”

Krel blinked.

Douxie sighed. “Well, I tried to warn you.”

Mary came back with the glass of water and set it on the bedside table. She sat on the bed next to her sick boyfriend and gently placed a hand on his arm. “How are you feeling?” she asked.

Krel grumbled. “Like this is a waste of time. I need to keep working-”

Mary rolled her eyes. “Krel, you’re sick. You can take a break from your work for a few days.”

“I’m an Akiridion, I can’t get human disease,” Krel muttered indignantly.

Mary poked him in the leg. “Well, guess what genius? Your human transduction is apparently _so_ good that you _can_ get human diseases. Congratulations. Now take your pills.”

Krel looked at the pill she was waving in front of his face. “No.”

Mary raised her eyebrows. “Excuse me?”

Krel shook his head slowly. “I don’t want to,” he mumbled.

Mary shot him a look. “Oh really? Well, do you want me to tell Aja that you got sick? Would you prefer that?”

Krel shook his head. “No. That would be embarrassing…”

Mary shoved the pill in his face. “THEN TAKE YOUR PILL.”

Douxie stood off to the side, more than happy to _not_ be the victim of Mary’s threats. He and Archie exchanged a glance. From the expression on the familiar’s face, Douxie could guess that he felt the same way.

Finally, Krel swallowed the pill and thunked his head back down on the pillow, almost spilling the entire glass of water all over himself. Mary sighed and carefully took the glass from his hand before setting it down on the table.

Krel groaned again. “Ugh, that was the weirdest feeling ever. Are you absolutely _sure_ I’m sick?”

Mary pinched the bridge of her nose for the second time. “Yes, Krel. You have a fever.”

Krel gasped. “Wait a sekton, can’t you _die_ from getting a fever?!”

Mary blinked at him. “Well, I mean, technically you _can_ -”

Krel’s eyes widened, “Seklos and Gaylen! I’m DYING.”

Mary stood up. “What?! No! What are you talking about? Your temperature is only like one hundred and one degrees Fahrenheit! Krel! YOU AREN’T DYING.”

Krel didn’t seem to hear her. “But, there’s so many things I didn’t get to do! Like try the Diablo Maximus, or tell Aja that _I_ was the one who framed her for stealing my stuff when we were kids! SOMEONE TELL STEVE THAT I HATE HIIIIIIMMMM.”

Douxie shook his head sadly. “He’s getting worse.”

Mary slapped her forehead. “He’s _delirious._ Ugh, I can’t handle this right now! I have to help my cousin study for her ACT test in like an hour so she doesn’t kill me. But I can’t just leave Krel behind…”

Douxie put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, Mary. Me and Archie can take care of him. Right Arch?”

The cat just raised an eyebrow at him(do cats have eyebrows? Douxie wished he knew) and didn’t respond.

Mary sighed. “Okay, fine. But _make sure_ that he doesn’t sneak out to work on his projects or anything. He has to rest, okay?”

Douxie smiled. “I got it, Mary. Don’t worry. Like I said, nine hundred years worth of surviving plagues makes you into quite the healer.”

“Yeah!” Krel agreed from behind them. “Douxie is, like, _old_. He’s _basically_ a certified _doctor._ ”

“See?” Douxie put his hands on his hips. “Krel gets it.”

Mary rolled her eyes, but headed towards the door nonetheless. “Okay, fine. But I am _so_ suing you if our boyfriend gets even a _scratch_ anywhere on his body under your watch. Capiche?”

Douxie put his hands up as if he were surrendering. “Yes! Yes, I got it!”

Mary sighed and leaned up to kiss the wizard on the cheek. Giving him a stern look, Mary walked out the door of the house.

Douxie breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to the cat and the Akiridion, who were both lying down on the bed. He looked at Archie. “So, now what?”

The familiar shrugged. He licked the fur on his shoulder and gave him a look like he was crazy. “Well, don’t look at _me_.”

Douxie looked from his familiar to his delirious boyfriend. He sighed.

This was going to be a long day.


	6. Aja

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aja comes to visit Earth for the first time in months! It's a very lively day indeed, when you subtract her and Krel's communication problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was also suggested by MissA2910.

Aja Tarron stepped out of the portal that had taken her to Earth from Akiridion-5. She looked around. It had been so long since she had last visited this planet. Everything looked exactly the same, minus the damage still left over from the last end-of-the-world.

“Aja!”

Aja turned to see her boyfriend bolting toward her. “Steve!” she shouted happily. She scooped up the teenager in all four of her arms, lifting him into the air. “It’s been so long! How are things on Earth!”

“Dude,” Steve said dramatically as she put him down, “ _So_ boring since you left.”

Aja giggled. “I missed you too.”

“Hey Aja!” came another familiar voice from a few feet away. Aja looked over to see her younger sibling waving at her.

“Little Brother! It’s so good to see you! How are you?”

  
Krel chuckled. “I’m good! It’s good to see you too.”

He handed her his serrator, and with a click of a button, Aja returned to her human form. She looked down at herself in surprise. “Woah, I haven’t used the human transduction in so long… I forgot what it felt like.” She wiggled her ten fingers. 

Suddenly, Aja remembered something. “Oh! Krel, didn’t you say Mary was coming?”

Footsteps sounded from behind her. “I’m here!” Mary panted as she approached, like she had run the entire way there. The girl managed to stumble up to them and smiled at her best friend. “Oh my goodness, Aja! It is _so_ good to see you, you don’t even know!”

Aja giggled. It had been such a long time since she’d last seen the dark-haired girl. It had been hard leaving her best friends, brother, and boyfriend all behind. At least at home she had Luug. And Varvatos, and Zadra. And of course, the Pepperjack.

Aja blinked as Mary slipped her hand into Krel’s. She did it so casually, like it was not a big deal. Aja looked from her brother to the girl beside him. “Mary, are you guys… Are you guys _together_?”

  
Mary stared at her for a few moments. She turned to Krel. “I thought you told her?”

Krel just shrugged, looking confused. “I thought I did too… I guess I must have forgotten.” He turned back to Aja. “Yes, we’re together.”

Aja paused for a moment. Suddenly, she let out a squeal. “Seklos and Gaylen, that’s adorable!” She jumped up and down, giggling and shaking her fists. “Steve! Can you believe my brother and my best friend are dating?!”

Steve shrugged, trying hard to look indifferent. “Yeah, it’s pretty cool I guess.” Despite his calm demeanor, Aja could tell when her boyfriend was trying to hide his smile.

“Oh my goodness,” Aja looked at Krel with shining eyes. “I can’t believe _you_ actually got yourself a girlfriend! I’m so proud of you Little Brother!”

Krel looked offended. “Hey! Have a little less faith in me, would you?”

Aja giggled. “I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant.”

Steve interjected, wrapping his arm around Aja’s shoulder. “ _Anyway,_ Aja! I have something totally awesome to show you!” he smiled flirtatiously, “My warrior princess.”

Aja shoved him playfully. “Alright, then, my lumbering oaf.”

_

Aja spent the rest of the day thinking of Krel and Mary. What would they be called? Krary? Marel? Nah, probably Krary. That had a lively ring to it.

Aja couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of them dating before. They were perfect for each other! Mary could help Krel actually socialize, and Krel could maybe help lead Mary away from her cell phone addiction. They would balance each other out. And they were so cute together!

Aja held Steve’s hand, walking throughout Arcadia. She hummed contently as memories rushed back to her. That was where the school used to be! Oh! Was that the library? She had only been there once before, and remembered it being very lively.

Aja tapped Steve and pointed to the cafe as they walked past it. “Look! Steve! That’s the restaurant where we got abducted! Remember?”

  
Steve winced. “All too well.”

Suddenly, Aja noticed something that made her stop. “Oh no…” she whispered.

Steve looked at her, concerned, and maybe a little panicked. “What? What is it Aja?”

Aja could almost feel her stomach dropping as she pointed towards one of the windows of the cafe. Mary was in there, chatting with someone Aja couldn’t see. She was clutching the arms of someone, of a boy. A boy Aja knew. He wasn’t Krel, that was for sure.

It was Douxie Casperan. Aja very clearly remembered fighting alongside him only a few months ago. He and Mary were leaning on each other. As Aja watched in horror, Mary kissed Douxie gently on the cheek.

Steve winced. “Ouch. Do you think Krel knows?”

Aja turned to him. “I don’t know! Great Gaylen, he probably doesn’t! How am I supposed to tell him Mary is cheating on him?” She looked back at the restaurant, feeling like her best friend had betrayed _her_ rather than her brother. Aja knew the girl could be a bit of a player, but she had never expected her to betray Aja’s own brother!

Aja shook her head exasperatedly. “Steve! What am I supposed to do? If I tell him, he’ll be heartbroken. I don’t want to do that to him! But he’ll have to find out eventually… and maybe it would be better if he heard it from me? But Mary’s still my best friend! I’m sure she didn’t mean to hurt anyone-”

“Hey,” Steve put a hand on her shoulder. “I don’t know how much it matters, but I think you should tell him. You’re the only one who would know the best way to break the news to him. And if you are going to, then I would do it now. Just rip the band-aid off.”

  
Aja gave her boyfriend an impressed look. “I didn’t know the Palchuk could be this wise.” Steve beamed. “But,” she shrugged apologetically, “I’m afraid I don’t have a band-aid to rip off. Lucy should have one-”

Steve laughed. “No, sorry. I just meant you should just get it over with. It’s not going to get any easier the longer you wait.”

Aja sighed, and afterward a few moments, she nodded. She had made her decision. “You’re right. I’m going to tell him. The next chance I get,” she looked down at the floor. “It’s not going to be fun.”

Steve took her hand and smiled at her. “Don’t worry, my ninja-kicking angel. The Palchuk has got your back!”

Aja laughed. That did make it a little better, she had to admit.

Still though, this was going to be hard.

_

Aja didn’t see Krel again until a few hours later. He was standing next to the very cafe where Aja had witnessed the betrayal of her best friend. She sighed and shook herself. It was now, or never.

“Krel!” she shouted. “I need to tell you something!”

Krel heard her shout and faced her direction. When he turned, Aja suddenly saw that he was holding someone’s hand. As Aja got closer, she could recognize who that someone was…

_Douxie?!_

Were Mary and Krel cheating on each other with the _same person?!_

Aja skidded to a halt, blinking in confusion at the two boys.

Krel waved. “Oh, hey Aja! What do you have to tell me?”

Aja’s jaw dropped. Her eyes weren’t fooling her, they really were holding hands. Was it possible to platonically hold someone’s hand??? Were Krel and Mary messing with her on her first day visiting Earth??? What in Seklos’ name was going on?!

“B-but,” Aja stuttered, “I thought you were dating Mary!”

Krel just looked at her with a confused expression. “I _am._ ”

Aja knitted her eyebrows together, determined to solve this mystery. “Wait, so you and Douxie are just friends, right?”

Krel and Douxie both laughed. Krel lifted up their joined hands. “Does it look like it?”

Aja narrowed her eyes at them, more confused than she had ever felt in her life. “But, I saw Douxie and Mary together earlier… I thought-”

Krel shrugged. “Well yeah, Mare and Doux are dating too.”

Aja blinked.

Krel tilted his head at her. “Didn’t I tell you? Me, Douxie, and Mary are all dating _each other._ We’re polyamorous. It means we’re all in a relationship with more than one person at once, without cheating on anyone.”

Aja took a second to process that.

“ _Ohhhhhhhhhhh…_ ” Aja slapped her forehead. “Now I feel like a gloober! I can’t believe I thought Mary was cheating on you!” she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Wait, Krel! Why didn’t you tell me?!”

Krel shrugged helplessly. “I sent you an email…”

“You know I don’t check my email!” Aja groaned. “Seklos and Gaylen, I should have figured this out sooner! Steve, did you know about this?”

Steve rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Well, not _technically_ , but I was a little suspicious-”

Aja growled in the back of her throat, but it wasn’t directed at her boyfriend.

Douxie smiled apologetically. “Sorry, Aja. We _probably_ should have been a little clearer about that.” His expression brightened. “To make up for it, how about we all have dinner at the cafe? I’ll pay for it.”

Steve pumped his fist. “YES! I am so flipping _hungry_ right now…”

Aja giggled, her hand over her mouth. “Yeah, okay, sounds good. I’ll invite Mary. You guys have a _lot_ of explaining to do.”


End file.
